Beware of Dry Minds
There are many circumstances in life to which the proper response is cynicism—questioning disbelief. Easy examples are telemarketers, John Kerry and internet pop-ups that say “You Are a Lucky Winner.” All may be treated with justifiable suspicion.
However, it would be a mistake to conclude that cynicism is an appropriate way of life. It’s a mistake to apply it like a fix-all, a band-aid for all wounds, a good approach to every question. Unfortunately, our culture’s prevailing mood tends this way. We have a jaded tendency to superficially label things and dismiss them. “I prefer to go through life bashing anything I don’t understand.”
The old straw man approach, the ad hominem attack, is a favorite in the arsenal of modern man: Merely deride your opponent, and then you won’t have to deal with his arguments. (I have to admit, it is fun sometimes.) As a good friend of mine once said,tongue-in-cheek, “I prefer to go through life bashing anything I don’t understand.” I guess there is a certain confidence that comes from knowing that whatever confusion you may encounter, you are “prepared.”
Nonetheless, becoming a default cynic will not make you a man for all seasons. Rather, it will make you a person incapable of enjoying any of them. We all know that some things in life are not what they seem. But that doesn’t mean that nothing will deliver. There are sources of joy that don’t disappoint (the overarching theme of BitterSweetLife), and we trivialize them at our peril.
Skeptics, deconstructionists, and dry thinkers may chalk up a lot of verbal points, but they are often bankrupt in the joy category. As Darwin wrote for his children, near the end of his life:Up to the age of 30 or beyond it, poetry of many kinds…gave me great pleasure…formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great, delight. But now for many years I cannot endure a line of poetry… I have also lost any taste for pictures or music… My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, I cannot conceive… The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness…
This is a sad reduction of life. And unlike many of us, Darwin (so far as I know) did not pursue cynicism for its own sake, either as a trend or a medication.
So exert cynicism wisely. Apply it when necessary—as a safeguard—not as a modus operandi. Some assertions may as well be believed, or at least entertained, until proven false. There’s an old adage, based roughly on Paul’s words (1 Corinthians 13:7), that seems fitting here: “Believe the best.” I don’t mean it superficially. Look carefully for the highest promises revealed in life. What, if true, might pay the highest dividends?
Sometimes the best things are also true.
4 comments:
Hey Ariel, I really really agree with your post (except for the John Kerry bit--I would argue the same could be said for George W. Bush--0r any political candidate for that matter--but that's neither here nor there). I was telling my husband the other day, "there are so many things I like; that's what makes life so enjoyable for me." For instance, so many foods, colors, sounds, smells, books, that it's really hard for me to go through life being dissatisfied and cynical. Also, giving people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their shortcomings just makes it easier to accept people and enjoy their company. It really bugs me when Christians are cynical, make fun of things they don't understand, or are generally pessimistic (sp?). Hey, we're supposed to be a people characterized by FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE, and there's just no room for cynicism. Those other three will just squeeze it out. :)
And yes, I write music (lyrics and melody). There's a short clip of one of the songs I wrote on my profile. :)
I agree, there are so many "small" things in life to enjoy...and of course the not-so-small. Coffee and mountains, music and Autumn, candles and the sun... People who really know God have no excuse for being cynical! God made too much beauty. True, this world distorts it, but this is the heart of bittersweetness. The good we experience now is just a foretaste.
Will have to check out your song.
Yeah, i write piano-based music a lot, but I also write stuff on guitar and hammered dulcimer (that's what A Quiet Place was originally written on). I learned piano first, though, so a lot of songs are more easily "fleshed out" on that instrument.
Is there somewhere I can listen to audio clips of your music or buy your CD?
My band is coming out with a CD (soon, I hope). My husband is the drummer, and I write most of the music and play piano, guitar, and hammered dulcimer, and sing. There are also two other guys in the band, another guitarist/e-guitarist, and a bass player. They both sing as well, although the bass player is on the verge of leaving the band due to time constraints, so we haven't been playing many gigs. Because of this, I've been dragging my feet on getting the album put out, since we can't play gigs to support it. :(
Thanks for sayin' hello, Beck. Come back soon.
About the music: I've been trying to get my brother to put an audio clip online. Now I have an additional reason. :) He'd like to, just hasn't gotten around to it. Of course we can mail you a CD, but wouldn't want to sell it to you "sound unheard."
The style is what they dubbed "contemporary classical." Lots of piano, keyboards and semi-operatic vocals. Great results for a first outing.
I was involved in the creative process as Manager and CD Cover Designer, pretty prestigious stuff... ;)
What venues does your group usually play?
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